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At least 34 homes, a school and three game lodges have been destroyed by flooding in the Chiawa valley of the lower Zambezi following opening of spill gates at the giant Kariba Dam, according to humanitarian officials in the Zambian capital, Lusaka.
UNICEF spokesman, Victor Chinyama, told IRIN on Monday that maize fields along the river banks in the valley had been destroyed after the waters rose just over 5.1 metres. Other crops growing near the river banks were also submerged.
He said an estimated 140 Zambian households had been affected by the rising water levels, and that an assessment team was visiting the area with officials from the office of the vice presidency which deals with natural disasters.
Zambian officials said the gates had been opened just over a week ago to prevent water levels at Kariba rising above danger levels following heavy rains brought on by the cyclones which swept Madagascar and Mozambique.
WFP has dispatched two consignments of emergency food the area.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
